Virginia College Student Fights Lax Punishment For 3 Guys Found 'Responsible' For Her Sexual Assault

Former JMU student Sarah
Butters filed a national complaint after her three assailants
received "expulsion after graduation"
punishments.WHSV-TV

Virginia's James Madison University found three fraternity
brothers "responsible for sexual assault and harassment" but
punished them with expulsion from the campus after
graduation, local TV station
WHSV-TV reports.

The "expulsion
after graduation" punishment allowed two of the men to graduate
on time, while the third will return to campus in Harrisonburg,
Virginia, for his senior year this fall,
according to The Huffington Post.

Sarah Butters, the student who says she was assaulted, filed a
federal complaint following the decision, prompting an
investigation from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for
Civil Rights.

On May 1, the Department of Education released a
list of over 60 colleges and universities under investigation
for compliance with Title IX, a federal law that prohibits
gender-based discrimination at schools receiving federal funding.
Since its original report, it has released public updates weekly.

The alleged incident at James Madison occurred in Panama City,
Florida, during spring break of 2013, and Butters says the three
men involved were her close friends. She was still in Florida
when she first learned about a possible cellphone video of the
incident. When she confronted the men, they denied filming
anything, she told HuffPost in an interview. Upon returning to
campus, Butters says she obtained a copy and discovered the video
being passed around an online gossip forum.

"It was kind of hard for me to deal with," Butters told HuffPo in an interview. "I just
tried to diminish the situation — I didn't want to bring it up,
didn't want to talk about it."

In the video, the three men reportedly laugh and grope Butters,
who at one point reportedly says, "This isn't okay, this isn't a
good idea."

Butters reported the alleged incident to the university, which
then punished them by banning them from campus after graduation.
Upon hearing this decision, Butters immediately appealed the
punishment. A hearing board then decided to expel the three men
immediately, which the men appealed. On April 2, another hearing
board returned to their original "expulsion after graduation"
sanction, according to HuffPost. They also prohibited the men
from joining student clubs or contacting Butters.

Butters has since withdrawn from James Madison after losing her
financial aid due to the poor grades she earned during the
adjudication process, according to the Huffington Post and
confirmed by the Washington Post.

On April 30, Butters filed the
national complaint because she believes the three men were
afforded more rights than she was.

"I don't think they had my best interest in mind when they gave
them the expulsion after graduation," Butters told
WHSV-TV, a television station based in Harrisonburg.

James Madison told HuffPost it
was working with the Education Department to resolve the
complaint.

"James Madison University takes
very seriously any allegation of sexual assault and is committed
to providing a safe and inclusive environment for every member of
the JMU community," university spokesman Bill Wyatt told
HuffPost.